Lafayette, Alabama
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the La Fayette census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36862. The Survey maps it on the Lafayette quadrangle. 2,684 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 843 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Lafayette
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 3 records
Chambers County Courthouse Square Historic Districtlisted 1980
Ernest McCarty Oliver Houselisted 1974- Vines Funeral Home and Ambulance Servicelisted 2008
Surveyed buildings and structures 4 records
- A. A. Tatum House, 226 North Lafayette Street, Lafayettefederal building survey, 11 photographs
- Andrews House, South Lafayette Street (U.S. Route 431), Lafayettefederal building survey, 9 photographs
- Betty McLemore House, 342 North Lafayette Street, Lafayettefederal building survey, 12 photographs
- Hightower Building, 15 South Lafayette Street, Lafayettefederal building survey, 14 photographs
Population over time
2 figuresLafayette fell from 3,003 to 2,684 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3,003 | |
| 2020 | 2,684 | -319 (-11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 13 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1907 USGS Opelika quadrangle1:125000
- 1909 USGS Opelika quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Phenix City quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Lafayette quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1981 USGS Opelika quadrangle1:100000
Photographs
1 photograph,Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Fires near this place
93 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 93 fires within 5 miles of Lafayette between 1994 and 2019, burning about 456 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 14 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 41 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 14 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 6 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 5 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160925-15 |
| 18 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | 2.5 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190916-12 |
| 16 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 15 September 1998 | Smoking | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 11 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 10 September 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 August 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | EAST OF LAFAYETTE, AL |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Lafayette: 3 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Aluminum, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Occurrence | Aluminum, Clay | Occurrence | 1982 | |
| Unnamed Occurrence | Aluminum, Clay | Occurrence | 1982 | |
| Unnamed Occurrence | Aluminum, Clay | Occurrence | 1982 |
Storms near this place
47 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lafayette in 47 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 25 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1994 | Tornado (F1) | Lafayette | $500,000 | A barn was demolished, a roof blown off a porch, damage to two houses, and numerous trees blown down in Chambers County. The damage occurred in an area running west to east south of Highway 50 from about three miles east of the Highway 50/county line to the Chambers County Public Lake. |
| September 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | $500,000 | Thunderstorm wind was believed to be responsible for damage to four houses just off U.S. Highway 431 about three miles north of Lafayette in the Buffalo community. People reported a sound like a freight train when the damage occurred. |
| November 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Lafayette | $50,000 | The tornado briefly touched down about three-quarters of a mile north of Lafayette. Numerous large trees were knocked onto a home at the intersection of US 431 and State Highway 77. Several sheds were destroyed and a large trailer was blown over. |
| March 2005 | Hail | Lafayette | $14,000 | The supercell continued along its northeastward path and dropped hail across northern Chambers County. The largest hail reported was golf ball size. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | $10,000 | Trees were blown down at several locations around Chambers County. A few vehicles were damaged by the fallen trees. |
| April 1998 | Hail | Lafayette | $10,000 | no account filed |
| December 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | $10,000 | no account filed |
| April 1997 | Hail | Lafayette | $8,000 | Golf ball size hail was reported in Lafayette, in the central part of the county. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Lafayette | $6,000 | Golf ball sized hail was reported by the EMA. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | $5,000 | Numerous large trees were blown down in the southern portion of the county. |
| March 2003 | Hail | Lafayette | $5,000 | Golf ball size hail was reported in Lafayette. |
| February 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | $5,000 | Trees were downed along US 431 in Chambers County. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | $5,000 | A few trees were down in the Five Points area of Lafayette. |
| April 1998 | Hail | Lafayette | $5,000 | no account filed |
| January 1997 | Hail | Lafayette | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Flash Flood | Lafayette | $4,000 | Several roadways near Lafayette were flooded and temporarily impassable. |
| March 2002 | Hail | Lafayette | $3,000 | Golfball size hail was reported south of Lafayette near the Chambers and Lee county line. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | $2,000 | Several trees were blown down around the city of Lafayette. |
| May 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | $2,000 | A few trees and several large limbs were blown down near AL-50, west of Lafayette. |
| January 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | $2,000 | One large tree was knocked down and blocked CR 289. The tree caused damage to a fence and a pole. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Lafayette | $2,000 | Quarter size hail was reported in Lafayette. |
| March 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | - | A metal building was blown onto Highway 431, and trees were downed in multiple locations around Lafayette. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | - | Trees were reported down at LaFayette High School, along 2nd Avenue, and along U.S. Highway 431 near LaFayette. Social media video and photos showed a tree that fell on a vehicle in LaFayette. The occupant escaped without injury. Another tree was downed on CR 102 just north of town as well. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | - | Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in Lafayette. |
| March 2023 | Hail | Lafayette | - | Tennis ball size hail reported on the southeast side of Lafayette. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | - | Numerous trees uprooted and power lines downed in Lafayette. Numerous trees uprooted reported countywide. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | - | Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the city of Lafayette. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | - | Several trees uprooted in the town of Lafayette. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | - | Numerous trees uprooted across the eastern portion of the county. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Lafayette | - | A garage and property around a home flooded. Radar estimated 4.5 inches of rain. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lafayette | - | Trees were reported down in the city of Lafayette, causing numerous power outages. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Lafayette | - | Golf ball sized hail was reported in the Oak Bowery community. |
| February 2005 | Hail | Lafayette | - | Penny size hail was observed in the city of Lafayette. |
| August 2005 | Hail | Lafayette | - | Penny size hail was reported near Lafayette. |
| December 2005 | Hail | Lafayette | - | Quarter size hail was reported just north of Lanett and West Point along the west side of West PointLake. |
| December 2005 | Hail | Lafayette | - | Penny size hail was observed near the Trammel Crossroads community. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Lafayette | - | Dime size hail fell from just west of Lafayette to Lanett. |
| April 1998 | Hail | Lafayette | - | Dime size hail was reported in Lafayette. |
| April 1995 | Hail | LaFayette | - | Quarter-size hail was reported at Standing Rock in northeast Chambers County. |
| April 1995 | Hail | Lafayette | - | Golf ball-size hail was reported in south-central Chambers County through the Lee County Emergency Management Agency. |
| May 1994 | Hail | Lafayette | - | Large hail was reported near Lafayette in central Chambers County. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Lafayette | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Lafayette | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Lafayette | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Lafayette | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Lafayette | - | no account filed |
| April 1998 | Hail | Lafayette | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 3.2 miles | 13 | |
| Rollins | 3.4 miles | 13 | |
| Moorefield | 5.6 miles | 12 | |
| Boyds | 5.7 miles | 12 | |
| Denson | 5.7 miles | 13 | |
| Wards Mill | 5.8 miles | 13 | |
| Marcoot | 6.2 miles | 13 | |
| White Plains | 6.4 miles | 13 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Lafayette | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79492 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 164071. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






